Ahsan Bhoon's degree verified, says PBC

Council rejects doubts over credentials

ISLAMABAD:

The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) on Thursday declared the degrees of its elected members, including prominent lawyer Ahsan Bhoon, genuine, saying their academic credentials had been verified through the relevant institutions before they were formally notified as members of the lawyers' top regulatory body.

In an official statement, the PBC said the returning officers (ROs) for its 2020 and 2025 elections had obtained verification of the degrees of elected candidates from their respective universities before notifying them as members of the council.

"It is, therefore, clarified that the verification of the degrees of the returned candidates, including that of Bhoon, was undertaken through the relevant universities in accordance with the prescribed procedure," the council said.

The council said the RO for the PBC Election-2020, who was also the Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP), had the degrees of the successful candidates verified by their respective universities soon after the elections. The candidates were subsequently notified as PBC members.

The same process was initiated again following the PBC Election-2025, with the AGP once more serving as the returning officer and starting verification of the elected members' degrees.

"Some members whose degrees were already verified in the last elections, their degrees too were sent again for verification to the relevant universities as well as the Higher Education Commission (HEC)," the council maintained.

The clarification comes amid a growing controversy over the academic qualifications of lawyers.

Earlier, former MNA and retired Capt Muhammad Safdar called for the verification of the degrees of prominent lawyers, including Bhoon, who is considered a close associate of Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar.

The controversy has emerged ahead of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) elections on Oct 29, adding another point of contention to an increasingly charged contest within the legal community.

Bhoon, a former SCBA president, heads the Independent Group, also known as the Asma Jahangir Group, while Safdar has formed his own Quaid-e-Azam MuhammadAli Jinnah Group.